The present invention relates to a battery booster cable and more particularly relates to a clamp construction that is used in connection therewith.
Battery booster cables are employed by a user for electrically interconnecting a discharged battery of a stalled vehicle with a charged battery, normally located in another vehicle, for starting the stalled vehicle. In order to accomplish the interconnection of the batteries, the booster cable is provided with clamps on the ends thereof, a pair of the clamps being connected to a negative labeled cable, and another pair of clamps being connected to a positive labeled cable. Those clamps that are denoted as being secured to the positive cable are fixed to the corresponding battery terminals of the charged and discharged batteries as marked, and one of the negative clamps is connected to the negative terminal of the charged battery, and the opposite negative clamp is connected to a ground connection of the stalled vehicle.
Automobile batteries have been normally manufactured with the terminals located at the top thereof, wherein the positive and negative terminals of the battery are spaced apart. However, in recent times some manufactures of automobile batteries have constructed their batteries with at least one of the terminals located on the side thereof. Since the handle and jaw portions of the battery booster cable clamp in use heretofore are aligned, mounting the jaws of the clamp in place on a side-mounted terminal is sometimes difficult to accomplish. Some efforts have been made heretofore to modify the existing booster cable clamps by providing a slidable extension on the jaws of the clamp, the extension being moved outwardly of the jaws for use in engagement of the terminal as located on the side of the battery. However, this construction was not always satisfactory in use, since the extensions tended to bend in use, and were not always capable of establishing satisfactory electrical connection with the terminals on which they were mounted.
As will hereinafter be described, the subject invention avoids the problems of the heretofore known battery booster cable clamps, and is not only easily affixed to the side mounted battery terminals, but is also usable in an improved manner with top mounted battery terminals.